The fifth edition of Community Questions is here, bringing answers to the diverse questions put forth by the community on the project's Discord server. Very interesting ideas going on here, so read on to find out more...

Lenon Kramer: “Are you thinking on the environmental impact of humans? Will you design an organic ecosystem, with complex interactions between species and the environment?”

Mundi: “Human colonization will certainly have an impact on the planet's environment, but how far this impact extends is yet to be finalized...especially as it's a very difficult mechanic to implement.

But, we understand that this is a very real issue and we'd like to give players the option to think about sustainability and the effect their footprint plays on the environment over time.”

GGMarZhill: “I know the game is about humans, or seedlings surviving on an exoplanet. But will there be room for other races/species?”

M: “There will be a variety of sentient beings found across the planet, say creatures that can be hunted for resources. But, in terms of 'alien life', we're going to keep that close to our chests at the moment.”

XPAction: “How are players distributed or spread across the map when they spawn for the first time”

M: “When players first play, they will be free to pick a spawn location or to choose to join an existing colony. But in general, we're trying to incentivize colonies to embrace new players, as when colonies scale up, they become stronger - from both an economical standpoint and for better defensive tactics.

However, there will be the option to start your own colony in a desolate area, but it's not recommended for those new to this type of game..and highly dangerous as other players – or things – can attack you in your sleep.”

M: “Yes for sure! But we're only just going through initial concepts right now.”

Hayseed: “Is it planned to have an option to provide an outline of your buildings/characters through trees?”

M: “Yeah, we already have that, actually. You'll be able to see outlines of your buildings as well as your Seedlings.”

jayleann: “Is there something like a private sector that is developing independent of player decisions?

M: “This is a very challenging concept to design, so at the moment we can't confirm how this concept will play out as of yet – we'll more than likely make it simple and then expand on this over time.

But, the aim is to allow players to start their own businesses, have their own bank accounts, be able to hire and fire employees, and sell their businesses, etc.”

jayleann: “Isn't there a risk of monopolization as the game progresses?”

M: “This is one of the main challenges with designing the economy. The way in which money flows is something we're very careful about tackling. The good thing is that we're working with a number of economists to help best avoid these scenarios.”

jayleann: “Would there be multiple ways to achieve economic success (planned economy, free-market capitalism, corporate capitalism, etc.) or would there likely be a bias that pushes every community to plan a similar set of policies?”

M: “We want this to be highly versatile, which also plays a deeper role in the laws and regulations of a colony. There would be a number of factors that play into economic success, such as the types of laws set-up and the number of resources available in the surrounding area.

Again, this sort of design is still early-on; we're still ploughing through the basic needs of the Seedlings and for them to have realistic, genuine emotions.”

jayleann: “And connected to the last question, is economic success the only benchmark for success or could you decide to be less efficient and succeed in other fields like citizen happiness, environment protection and the like?”

M: “Totally! Economic growth is just one way of measuring success. But ultimately, maintaining the happiness of your Seedlings should be the main aim for success, depending on their needs and desires.

We hope to see colonies survive though collaboration rather than relying solely on the economy, but that's totally up to the MO of a colony. Maybe it's satisfying to make money, or maybe it's more fulfilling to live completely off-the-grid. That's totally up to the players.

It's really exciting to think how diverse this system will grow to be.”

Something you want to ask us about Seed? Be sure to let us know in the comments below or join the Seed Discord server and post your questions there!